LITTLE ROCK — A federal appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a civil lawsuit that was filed by the boyfriend of a slain Arkansas beauty queen.
Kevin Jones was initially charged and put on trial for the 2005 killing of his girlfriend, Nona Dirksmeyer. Jones was acquitted by a jury and another man was later charged, but not convicted, in the case.
Jones sued Russellville police four years after his acquittal, claiming that officers conspired to frame him for the crime. A federal judge in Little Rock dismissed Jones' lawsuit, saying he waited too long to file the case.
On Thursday, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, finding that Arkansas' statute of limitations says that such claims must be filed within three years.